Easter Sunrise

Apostle’s Creed XII

Happy Easter. What a glorious morning. We have been here when it was windy and rainy, but the Lord is smiling on us today. I have been giving a series of messages from the steps of our church based on the Apostle’s Creed. At first, I thought I would take a week off from the creed and give an Easter message before returning for the 12th in our series. Then I realized that Easter was the logical for the next in our sequence. The next lines in the Creed are “I believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. I never cease to amaze how God takes care of the details. He made it fit. Thus, we will continue in our dissection of the Apostle’s reed.

Resurrection of the body. Whose body. I certainly hope it isn’t this one. I don’t expect to be old and fat in heaven. This old body is worn out with too many aches and pains. I would appreciate a new one. Several people in Scripture were raised from the dead: Lazareth, the son of the widow of Nain, and Jarius’s daughter were raised, but all went on to die again and were buried. Jesus, however, was resurrected for eternity. But, was His body the same after resurrection as it was before. We have conflicting reports. When the women met Him at the tomb, they didn’t recognize him at first; but when they did, they reported to Peter who went to see for himself. Later Jesus revealed Himself to them locked room. He went through the door, and then He let them inspect his wounds. Then Thomas had to see for himself, and eight days later Jesus once again appeared inside a locked room. Was it the same body? I don’t think so. The resurrected Christ can take on any shape He wants. It was necessary to convince Thomas and the others, so he gave them proof.

Will your body be resurrected? Absolutely! But it will be different than the old one you have worn out. That body will be returned to the earth as God promised it would be, and you will be given a new one. A new on for eternity.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

Of all the Christian holidays, this is the one that is the most significant. Christmas is joyous. I love babies – all babies, and the baby Jesus (the Son of God) is about as special as it gets. The birth of Christ, however, did not establish Christianity. Babies are born all the time. Neither did the crucifixion and death of our Lord on Good Friday. Death is a sad occasion. We grieve the need for the Son of God to suffer and die on a Roman Cross. It was a horrific, painful death, but death is not uncommon, and was not significant enough to generate a world-wide movement.

The resurrection on that first Easter morning was the beginning. When Jesus rolled the stone away, He became the Risen Christ and worthy of a following transcends nations as well as nationalities. His following has endured for 2000 years.

Only by stepping out of the darkness of the tomb into the light was Jesus able to show us the way. He showed us the way to live as an example of God’s creation. He showed us the way to live as an example of God’s love. He showed that the very essence of God is love. He showed us the way to love each other. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” Jesus showed us the way to be a beacon of faith in a world of hypocrites and sinners. Most importantly, He showed us the way to triumph over death. He showed us that a solemn ride in a long black car is not the end but the beginning.

A small precession of women came down the path and approached the tomb. They carried the oils and spices necessary to prepare a body for burial. They had yet to understand that Jesus had shown the way to eternal life in the Kingdom of God. They came to understand, just as have we. We understand Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, who holds the keys to eternal life.

There He stands in front of the empty tomb, the gateway to paradise. Follow Him. Let Him show you the way.